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H. H. BARBER y Oct. 26, 1926.

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LOADER Filed dan. e f 1921 2 shams-sheet 2 @m J w Ranma oa. 26,1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE.-

HARRY H. BARBER, 0F AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 BARBER-GREENE COMPANY., Ol' AURORA, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LOADER. l

Original No. 1,498,987, dated June 24, 19M, Serial No. 435,480. led January 6, 1921.

reissue filed June 21,

This invention relates to a power-driven loader of the endless belt type and its purpose is to rovide a machine of this character especially adapted to handle snow for eX- peditiously cleanlng city streets. It consists of the features and elements hereinafter clescribed and shown in the drawings as in'dicated by the claims.

In the drawings Fi re 1 is a slde elevation of a loader embodylng this invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse section taken through the conveyor and its frame` as indicated at line 2 2, on Figure 1, ybut not including the vehicle frame. Y

Figure 3 is a detail plan view of the receiving end of the loader with a specially -designed scoop ory plow associated therewith, the view being 'taken as indicated at line, 3 3, on Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail plan view of certain adjusting devices line, 4 4, on Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the upper and discharge end of the conveyor showing the adjustable wing fordirecting discharge. Figure 6 is a transverse section taken as indicated at the line, 6 6, on Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a horizontal plan view of the lower en'd of the conveyor showing the receiving scoop associated therewith.

Figure 8 is a medial lsection of the parts of the conveyor and of the scoop, shown in Figure 7, being indicated ,at line, 8 8, on Figure 7. Y

Figure cated aty line, contour of the scoop.

Figure 10 is a partial side elevation show-v ing a take-up for the drive chain.

The endless belt which constitutes the conveyor element of this loader is carried upon an u per'drum, 1, and lower drum, 2, journal 1n opposite ends of the inclined frame, 3, which may be fabricatedv in a well understood manner from suitable members such as plates and angles forming lateral trusses and the necessary cross connections between them to provide a fairly ri 'd mounting for the beltl and its carrying ruins. The load supportingvportions 4, of the belt may colisist of .any suitable fabric or rubber, or cornbinationof the two such as is commonly used being taken as indicated at 9 is a detail section taken as in'di- 9 9, on Figure 8 to show the.

Application for 1923. Serial No. 117,575,

for. this purpose and this belting, 4, isattached at its lateral margins to steel chains, 5, which travel over suitable sprocket wheels associated with the drums, 1 and Q, at their ends. This is of particular importance when the conveyor is used for handling snow or sleet because the accumulation of even a small amount of snow or ice upon the drums, 1 and 2, would result in wasteful slippage of the belt thereon if friction were depended upon for the drive. The belt, 4, is attached to the'chains, 5, by suitable clips, 6, disposed at intervals along the chains and also by meansof flights, 7, of angular cross-section which are attached at ltheir ends to the chains, 5, by means of the same t pe of clips, 6, and to which the belt is rivete or bolted at intervals in its width as indicated in Figure 3. The flights of course serve to retain the load of snow or other material picked up by the belt as itis carried upward along the incline to the discharge end where the belt passes over the pulley or drum, 1. The load is also retained and confined upon the belt by means of side boards, 8, supported on the frame, 3, and preferably overhanging the chains, 5, as shown in Figure 2.

The frame 3 is mounted and carried upon any suitable vehicle which, however, is preferably of the crawler tractor type indicated at 9, in Figure 1 and surmounted by a rectangular frame from whose upper horizontal bea-ms, 10, the conveyor frame is suspended by links, 11, pivoted to the beams by trunnions, 12, and to the frame, 3, by trunnions, 13. Any suitable motor,which may be an internal combustion engine lsuch as that indicated at 14, is carried on the vehicle and connected by reduction gearing to the drive'b'elt or chain, 1,5, running upon the drive sprocket, 15, which is fixed on one end of the shaft, 15", of the drum orv pulley, 1.

At the lower or receiving end the vconveyor frame is provided with a duplex plow. and scoop the bottom of which is formed by a transversely extending blade, 16, whose lower edge is positioned to travel close to the ground for picking up snow or other material' therefrom and whose surface may be inclined upward toward the load-car ply of theconveyor belt, f1, but of it by some little distance leaving a space, 17, as shown in Figure 3, into which some of horizontal plates,

i the material picked up by the blade, 16, will fall to await the passage of the flights, 7, onV

the belt, 4. The space, 17, is of substantially the same width as the belt, 4, but the bottom blade, 16, is considerably wider and its laterally extending portions continue upwardly past the space, 17, and alongside the belt, 4, inwarpe'd wings, 18, which converge toward the belt so as to direct material thereon as it is forced up along said wings by further accumulations of material gatheredl upon the blade, 16, as the vehicle, 9, advances.

The wlngs, 18, are supplemented in thelr gathering action by blades, 18, extending upward from the lateralmargins ofthe bottom blade, 16, and also projecting forward from the ends of its lower edge so as to plow their way into a pile of snow or other material as the vehicle advances, and thus Y to define the width of the clearing to be made by the machine. The upper edges of the wings, 18, and the supplemental wings or plow-shares, 18, are bent over at 18", curving inwardly toward each other, somewhat in the manner of a plow mold board so that when the material piles high in the scoop, it will be thrown over toward the middle of the scoop and onto the belt instead of spilling over Athe upper edges of the wings. or after a snow-storni, snow will frequently be moved from the middle of the street toward the curbs by other plows and then picked up by a loading machine of this type and discharged into motor 'trucks for haul`- ing away; to protect the supplemental wings, 18a,- as they work beside the curbs they may be reinforced by spaced parallel walls, 18C, extending from the ground to a limited height besidefthe wings, 18a, and secured thereto at the margins as seen in Figure 7. I

As the crawler, 9, ltravels forward, its progress is resisted by the material encountered by the scoop and the driving force for moving the scoop into the material is transmitted directly from the crawler, 9, to

the conveyor frame, 3, by a pair 'of 'thrust beams, 19, pivoted at their rear ends to brackets,\2Q, on the frame which surmounts the craw1er`,`9, and with their forward ends pivotally attached to the axle, 21, of the drum, 2. To assist the blade, 16, ofthe scoop in riding 'the road surface, it is re` enforced at its laterally extending portions beyond the opening, 17, by approximately 22, forming shoes extending rearwardly. from the edge of the blade, as seen in Figures 1 and 8. Between the shoes, 22, and below the opening, 17, a curved plate, 23, forms a hoot to retain 'the material temporarily lodged in the opening, 17. Side plates, 24, suitably flanged and connected to the shoes, 22,- serve .to stiff'en and support them. The blade, 16, itself to For city street cleaning .duringI Anot be excessively extended and rev-enforced by a transversely positioned angle member, 25, secured to its under surface and also by oblique braces, 26, connecting the ends of the angle, 25, with members, 27, attached tothe upper edges of the plates, 24. The wings, 18, may also be braced if desired by obliquely extending arms, 28, conprevent it from being` snagged upon anyy small -obstruction therein withoutaltering the angle of the main conveyorframe, 3. Such adjustment is effected by a hand wheel, 29, on a shaft, 30, journaledon the extending ends of the frame members, 10, the shaft-carrying sprocket wheels, 31, for endless chains, 32, guided upon idler wheels, 33, and connected with the rearwardly extending arms, 34, which are ,attached rigidly 'to the side plates, 24, of the scoo assembly. The operator standing on the p atform, 35, at the side of the vehicle frame is thus able to suddenly lift the blade and the scoop above its normal working position and to quickly re-adjus't it as close to the roadsurface as his judgment dictates, For moving the machine about when not in use, or for getting it into a convenient shelter, the

conveyor frame, 3, may be swung to a moreneanrl-y horizontal position by means of the hand wheel, 36, operating the worm, 37, and gears, 38, on the shaft, 39, whose drums, 40, are thus turned to wind the cables, 41, which are attached to the conveyor frame near its lower end as indicated at 42. Notwithstanding the fixed length of the thrust beams, 19, such movement is permitted by virtue of the suspension of the conveyor frame on the links, l1, which can swing about their trunnions, 12, to accommodate the altered position ofthe lower end of the conveyor frame.

The use of a flexible material such as a fabric, rubber or combination of the two for the belt, 4, renders it suiciently flexible to travel over a relatively small guide at thelower end, such as the drum, 2, so that the inclined portion, 16, of the scoop nee-:l

the mateup by the of forcing it up distance. The use of the lateral chains, 5, as an integral part of the belt affords a means of driving it without danger of slippage` and when the loader is employed for handling snow, these chains may travel directly in the angles, 43, which form thelongitudinal members of the conveyor frame, as indicated in Figure 2,

rial gathered by it will be picked belt without the necessity the incline any great discharge of material in wind the snow and ice acting as anadequate lubricantv between the chains and the angle members to prevent excessive wear. Obviously if the material handled were not of this nature. the chains could be provided with idler wheels to support them in the conveyor frame.

As the snow or other material is ndischarged over the upper pulley or drum, .l, it will fall directly into the rece tacle provided, which will ordinarily be t e body of a. motor truck or wagon. ince it is not always easy to back a truck or wagon under .theend of the conveyor in a perfectly central position, the guard plates, 44, at this end are provided with hinged depending wings, 45,

preferably connected by a link, 46, so as to converge ldownward and normally hanging as shown in section in Figure 6, but operable by means of a rock shaft, 47, todis charge the material at either side of the central position, as indicated in dot-ted lines in said Figure 6, in which the truck body is also shown in dotted lines at A. The depending wings, 45, also serve to control the weather, both by shielding it from the wind and by deilecting it if necessa to counteract the effect of the wind stri ing it below said win T e and controlled by one man under ordinary circumstances, though the loading of the material into the scoop may be assisted to some extent by one or two shovelers. The crawler vehicle is controlled in its movements by two levers, one of which, indicated at 48, operates the forward driving clutch when -moved in oneI direction, or connects the reverse drive when shifted to its other limit.

The lever, 49, is arranged to selectively con- -trol brake bands for retarding or arresting' one or the other ofthe two crawlers so that b-y virtue'of a differential gearing connecting them, the one which is not held will as sume the drive and the vehicle will travel in a curve. All necessary steering can be accomplished in this way as is well understood. A third lever, 50, may be understood as operating any suitable formof cutch for connecting or disconnecting the belt conveyor from the engine, 14. Thus the vehicle and the conveyor may be driven simultaneously or independently at will. The handle, 47, of the rock shaft, 47, extends within reach of the operator as he stands upon the platform, 35, and the adjusting wheels, 29 and 36, are simultaneously accessible to him while he is operating the vehicle. v i

By reason of the floating suspension of the conveyor and frame, 3, from the beams, 10, of the vehicle frame, it is necessary to provide an automatic take-up device for the drive chain, 15, to prevent it from becoming too loose when 4the lower end of the conveyor machine is designed to be operated l frame is adjusted vertically or permitted to ride up and down over irregularities of the road surface. 4As previously noted, the up and-down movement of the lower end of said frame, 3 is under control of the radius arms or thrust bars, 19, and results in a longitudinal movement of the frame, causing the links, 11, to swing about their trunnions, 12. .Since the drive chain, 15 connects the wheel, 15, at the'upper end of the frame, 3, with a drive sprocket, 51, on the counter shaft, 52, lfiiiedly journaled on theA vehicle, the distance between these two centers will be altered by adjustment` of the lower end of vthe frame, 3. ,A take-up-wheel, 53, is therefore journaled at the end of a swinging arm, 54, fulcrumed at its lower end on a plate, 55, of the vehicle frame. A link, 56, is pivotally attached at one end to the arm, 54, at a point intermediate its fulcrum and the wheel, 53, which it carries, and said link -is connected for control to the conveyor frame, 3, by means of a bracket, 57, attached to the plate,.58, of said frame,-a cushion spring, 59, being inserted between the bracket, 57, and the adjusting nut, 60, on the end of said link. The arm, 54, being connected to the frame, 3, by the link, 56. is swung about its fulcrum Vas the frame floats backwards or forwards upon its supporting links, 11, and thus acts as a lever to multiply the longitu din'al movement of the frame, 3, so as to add or subtractV the requisite amount from the effective length of both plies of the chain, 15, kand keen it sufficiently tight for safe operation. The driving ply of the chain, 15, is further supported upon a fixed idler, 61,

iournaled on the beam. 10, so as to prevent lendless belt conveyor carried thereon extending Vfrom a point near the ground ahead of the vehicle to an elevated discharge point rearward of the vehicle frame with a frame supporting said conveyor belt formed to overhang a clearance space at the rear of the vehicle high enough to admit a wagon or truck to receive the discharge from the conn veyor, a pair of depending lateral wings attached to the conveyor frame and between which ythe material falls when discharged from the conveyor; and means for inclining said wings at will to direct the discharge.

2. Injthe combination defined in claim 1, a pair of depending lateral wings hinged to the conveyor frame adjacent the point of discharge andmeans connecting said wings for simultaneously inclining them toward either side of the path'of the vehicle to direct the discharge.

3. The combination of a vehicle frame with a load-gathering fixture carried at the forward end and a frame for an'endless belt conveyor extending fore and aft of the vehicle and suspended thereon by hangers adapted to swing fore and aft of the vehicle together with a strut projecting forwardly from the vehicle frame for engagement with the forward end of the conveyor frame for transmittingthe pushing force of the vehicle directly `the .CLO.

4. In tho'combination defined in claim 3, said load gathering fixture being supported on the forward end of the conveyor frame.

5. In the combination defined in claim 3, saidstrut'being pivctally attached to the vehicle frame and to the conveyor frame and means for vertically adjusting said conveyor frame up on` its hangers.

6. In combination a vehicle and an endless belt conveyor mounted in an inclined position thereon, said conveyor including a frame; means by, which the forward end of the conveyor frame is adjustably supported upon the vehicle and a fulcrum for said conveyor frame rearward of said adjustable Support and movable fore and aft with respect to the vehicle frame together with a thrust bar pivotally attached at one end to the lower part of the vehicle frameand pivotally connected at the other end to theforward end of the conveyor frame.

7. In the combination defined in claim 6,

a power plant on the vehicle with a drive wheel connected thereto, a driven wheel assoclated withv the conveyor belt at one end of the conveyor frame and a drive chain con necting said wheel with the drive Wheel on the vehicle together with an idler for said chain mounted for movement foreland aft on the vehicle frame and means connecting its mounting with the conveyor frame to effect such fore andN aft movement as the fulcrurn of the conveyor frame shifts upon the vehicle.

8. In they combination defined in claim (i, a power plant on the vehicle with a drive wheel connected thereto, a driven wheel associated with the conveyor belt atthe upper end of the conveyor frame and a drive chain connecting said wheel with the drive Wheel on the vehicle together with a take-up idler for said chain mounted on a svvin 'ng arm 'fulcrumed on the vehicle with a ink connecting the conveyor frame with said arm for shifting the take-up wheel in proportion to the longitudinal movement of the conveyor frame upon itsl supporting links.

9. In the combination of a vehicle with a .mounted on the vehicle in an inclined pair of plows carried at the forward end, spaced apart and formed to deflect material toward each other into the path of advance of the vehicle` and an endless conveyor osition with its lower end arranged to pic up said material from between the plows, said plows being rigidly connected together by a transversely extending bot-tom plate to :form a scoop adjacent the lower end of the conveyor, said bottom plate being spaced away from the lower end of the conveyor to form a receiving boot and a bottom 'plate for said boot supported on the conveyor frame independently of the bottom of the scoop.

10. In combination a vehicle with a loadgathering fixture carried at the forward end and an endless belt conveyor mounted on the vehicle in position to receive said material and transfer 'it rearwardly for discharge, the conveyor belt comprising a width of belting of flexible material with marginal drive chains securndthereto, a frame-supporting said conveyor belt including upper and lower longitudinal rails at each side, said rails being of angular cross-section, each having a flange extending vertically `and a flange ext-ending transversely thereof with Athe vertical flanges spaced apart to receive the conveyor belt between them and the horizontal flanges extendinginwardly to support the chains of said belt in their travel,

l1. In the combination defined in claim l0, side boards on the conveyor frame exttending vertically at the margins of the belt to retain material thereon and disposed directly above said marginal chains overhang-- ing them.

12. In combination, a vehicle and "an endless belt conveyor monnted in an incined position thereon, said conveyor inc uding a. frame; means by which the conveyor frame is supported upon the vehicle frame comprising a fulcrum movable fore and aft with respect to thevehicle frame and means for adjust-ing the conveyor frame about said fulcrum, together @with a thrust bar pivotally attached at one end to the lower part of 'the vehicle frame and pivotally connected at the other end to the forward end of the conveyor frame. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at Aurora, Illinois, this lthvday of June, 1926.

einer BARBER. 

